Saturday, December 1, 2012

Freezer Cooking # 4: Soups!

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My Freezer after Freezer Cooking #4

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About a month and a half ago I asked for reader suggestions on soups I should include in my Freezer Cooking #4 post. Thank you everyone for your suggestions! Sorry it has taken me awhile to finish this post… Our baby boy arrived 10/22/2012, so needless to say I have been a bit pre-occupied this past month!

The concept for Freezer Cooking #4 is to fully prepare 4 different soups that you can easily thaw & serve within 30 minutes of taking out of freezer and 1 that you will “prep” to be placed in the crock pot. For this freezer cooking we will be doing a White Bean Chicken Chili (Thanks Holly Shaw for this delicious recipe!), a Beans & Greens Soup, Apple Chicken Stew, Perfect Winter Beef Stew (Thanks Pam Fallis for this amazing recipe!) and Chicken & Andouille Stew.

As I point out in all my Freezer Cooking posts, I prepare my “bags” to be for “2 servings.” Since there are only 2 of us eating…this helps with waste & portion control. If you will be serving more than 2 people with your freezer meals then you can cut the # of bags I tell you to prep for each soup in half so that each bag has more soup. ( i.e. – I will tell you to label 3 bags for “White Bean Chicken Chili”, these bags will have enough for 2 servings each in them when the prepared soup is divided equally between them, so if you would like your bags to have 4-6 servings, then divide the soup evenly between 2 bags instead of 3.)

Also, I will be using my FoodSaver system to seal/store all of the soup ingredients. For the sake of the instructions and so no one gets confused I will still refer to everything as “bags.” For this round of recipes you will need Quart sized freezer bags if you follow my instructions how they are OR Gallon sized bags if you are increasing serving sizes to (4).

Here is the menu for Freezer Cooking Round 4 “Soups”:

• White Bean Chicken Chili (3)

• Chicken and Andouille Stew (4)

• Greens & Beans Soup (2)

• Perfect Winter Beef Stew (3)

• Apple Chicken Stew (3)

Here is my grocery list: (don’t be alarmed! The list looks a bit long but most of the ingredients were already in my cabinet and are probably in yours! Everything in italics was already in my cabinet. Compare this list to your cabinets and cross out the items you won’t need to buy at the store. =) )

Fresh Produce:

• Sweet Onions (5 med/large sized) I bought a “bag” of sweet onions- it was less $

• Head of Garlic (1)

• 1-Green Pepper

• 1-Red Pepper

• 1-Bunch of Celery

• 1 Ib. Carrots (for slicing)

• Bag of Potatoes (you will need approx 6 potatoes)

• Fresh Sliced Mushrooms (3 cups)

• 1- Large Apple

Meat:

• 2 Ibs Beef for Stew

• 4 ½- 5 Ibs Chicken Breast

• 1 ½ Ibs Fully Cooked Andouille Sausage (Link)

• Bacon (approx 6 slices- I use the pre-cooked/microwavable kind)

Grocery:

• 64 oz Chicken Broth

• 42 oz Vegetable Broth

• 14 ½ oz Beef Broth

• Worcestershire Sauce

• KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing (3/4 cup)

• 15 oz Tomato Puree

• 15 oz Stewed Tomatoes

• 14 oz Diced Tomatoes

• 11 oz can White Corn

• (3) 15 oz cans Great Northern Beans (white beans)

• 4 oz diced green chilis (can)

• Brown Rice (not instant)

• Packet White Bean Chili Seasoning Mix

• Cajun Seasoning

• Salt & Pepper

• Canola Oil

• Olive Oil

• Flour

• Bay Leaves (3)

• Basil

• Sour Cream

• Garlic Powder

• Thyme

• Caraway

• Apple Cider or Juice

• Apple Cider Vinegar

• Freezer Bags

• The following ingredients you will need for later when you actually prepare the soup: Shredded Parmesan Cheese, Spinach or Kale, Green Onions

Of course, once you get everything home and you are ready to cook put it on the counter and admire what you are about to do!! =)

1. First, you want to assess your “pot” situation. You will need (2) LARGE pots for the Perfect Winter Beef Stew and the Chicken & Andouille Stew and (2) Crockpots for the Apple Chicken Stew and White Bean Chicken Chili. We will prep the Beans & Greens soup so that the ingredients are frozen together and then you put in crockpot to cook the day you will eat it. Get your pots/crockpots ready on the counter/stove. ( I label my pots so I know which soup is which for easy ingredient placement)

2. Next, I washed and prepped ALL the meat. For the Chicken; Wash and trim all breasts, leaving whole and set aside. Cut (3) Pieces of Chicken (approx 1.5 pounds) in half and rub with a mixture of 1 Tbsp Cajun Seasoning, ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper, set aside. For the Stew Beef; make sure it is cut into 1 inch chunks. Pour ¾ cup KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing over stew beef – coat evenly and set aside letting marinate 30 minutes. For the Bacon; cook approximately 6-8 slices and chop, set aside. For the Andoiulle Sausage: Slice and set aside.

4. In the “Chicken & Andouille Pot” heat 2 Tablespoons of canola oil and brown the (3) chicken breasts rubbed in Cajun seasoning (you can do this in batches if you need to). Remove chicken from pan and set aside. Add ½ cup canola oil to same pot and stir in ½ cup flour. Cook & stir on medium-low heat for 30 minutes or until browned (do not burn).

5. While oil/flour is cooking in “Chicken & Andouille Pot”, you can start on the “Perfect Winter Beef Stew Pot”. Warm (1) Tbsp oil over Medium-High heat and cook (1) chopped onion and 3 cups mushrooms for approximately 10 minutes or until tender. Remove beef stew meat from marinade(discard marinade) and add meat, approx 6 of the sliced carrots, 2 of the cubed potatoes, 14 ½ oz can stewed tomatoes, 14 ½ oz can beef broth and bacon to pot. Stir. Bring to a boil stirring occasionally and cover. Reduce to low heat and simmer 1 hour 15 min or until beef is cooked and sauce is thickened.

Thank you so much for your Freezer Meal series of posts. I'm in the process of joining the Royal Canadian Army reserve unit near me and I'll be heading off for training for 24weeks give or take. I think with your guide and recipes I can make it a bit easier on my husband when I go. (he's military as well) He's not the greatest cook in the world, and these are so healthy compared to his staple cooking..the kids will be grateful to have some "Mommy food" even once or twice a week! hehehe.

quick question about the chicken and andouille soup...in step 4, when you remove the chicken, add the canola oil and flour, are you then cooking the canola oil and flour for 30 min or do you add the chicken back to the pot and cook for 30 min? Thanks!